A councilman in Danville, Virginia, was attacked and set on fire on Wednesday over what police are describing as a “personal matter” not related to his position or politics.
According to a statement released by the Danville police department, the councilman, Lee Vogler, 38, was attacked at the offices of a local magazine, where he is also employed.
The police said officers were dispatched at about 11.30am after receiving a report that a man had been set on fire.
Witnesses told police that the suspect “entered into the victim’s place of employment, confronted him and doused him with a flammable liquid”.
Then, witnesses said Vogler and the suspect “exited the building, where the suspect then set the victim on fire”.
The suspect then reportedly fled the scene, and witnesses provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle to the responding officers.
Police said officers located and stopped the vehicle several blocks from the incident, and the driver was taken into custody.
The driver, identified by the police as Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, 29, of Danville, was identified as the suspect in the attack.
In the statement, the police said: “Based on the investigation at the time of this release, the victim and the suspect are known to each other and the attack stems from a personal matter not related to the victim’s position on Danville city council or any other political affiliation.”
The full extent of Vogler’s injuries were not known, the police said on Wednesday afternoon.
The Danville fire department and the Danville Life Saving Crew also responded to the scene to render aid, police said. Vogler was airlifted to a regional medical facility for treatment.
The police department added that “due to the ongoing investigation, the Danville police department will not provide any further details about the incident itself. However, charge information will be forthcoming.”
The news was first reported by Andrew Brooks, the publisher and owner of Showcase magazine, the publication where Vogler works, who posted a video on Facebook stating that Vogler had been attacked in the magazine’s offices.
“An individual forced his way into to our office, carrying a five-gallon bucket of gasoline, and poured the gasoline on Lee,” Brooks said. “Lee attempted to flee and ran in front of the building. The individual followed him and set him on fire.”
Brooks said Vogler was awake and talking and that he was en route to the burn center in Lynchburg.
“Our hearts and prayers are with him,” Brooks said, adding that he and his colleagues were cooperating with the local police.
“This type of senseless act of violence has to stop,” Brooks said. “You do not have the right as a human being to get upset with someone enough to lash out and attempt to harm them in any way, much less this way.”
